Arch support



July 21, 1925. 15469740 M. J. MOQUEENEY ARCH SUPPORT Filed Oct. 16, 19

Patented July 21, 1925.

UNlTED STATES MARIA. J. MOQUEENEY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

ARCH surronr.

Application filed October 16, 1923. Serial No. 668,906.

.To all whom it may c'oncem:

Be it known that I, MARIA J. MoQUnaNEr, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Arch Supports; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the characters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this application, and represent, in-

Fig. 1 a plan view of an arch-support constructed 1n accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 a sectional view on the line 2-2 of %ig. 3 a view thereof in front elevatlon,

with the lateral extensions, or positioning flaps, of its body-member shown by broken lines as turned upward as in use.

My invention relates to an improvement in arch;supports for footwear, the object being to provide, at a low cost for manufacture, a simple, efficient, convenient, nonmetallic, adjustable support, rovidmg a high degree of comfort and a apted to be readily adjusted in height by the user, to

meet the individual requirements of his or her foot-conformation.

With these ends in vlew, my invention consists in an arch-support having certaln details of construction as will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out my invention, as herein shown I em loy an u per or body-member 10, oblong in general orm, preferably having its forward and rear edges curved and having lateral extensions 11 and 12, which are turned u ward in use, as indicated by broken lines 1n Fig. 3, so as to form positioning-flaps which embrace the arch of the foot and laterally support it to some extent. To the under-face of this body-member I secure a shorter secondary or lower member 13 by lines of stitching 14, parallel with each other and parallel with the axis of the foot its edges 15 being skived orvreduced in thic ess, so as to merge into the lower face of the body-member, as clearly shown in Fi 3. A ocket 16, opening forwardly and rearwar ly, is thus formed between the two members, for the reception of a plurality of leather shims 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

and 24, diminishing in size from the uppermost to the lowermost, and, as shown, having the general outline of an oyster. The number of these shims may be varied, as well as their outline, the object being to provide each arch-support with a sufficient number of them to enable the user to build up the support according to the requirements of his or her foot-conformation, as determined by the trials of the arch-support in the shoe. All of the parts mentioned are Ereferably made of a good grade of leather, ut the use of leather is not imperative, as some other flexible, non-metallic material might answer the same purpose.

When these shims are in tend forwardly, out of the pocket 16, as shown in Fig. v1, and the conformation of their forward ends will be found conformable to the foot. The user may interchange them, or even cutthem, according to his or her needs, as, for instance, if the sole of the foot has callouses or bunions.

It is to be particularly noted that my improved arch-support is heelless in the sense place, they exthat it does not extend rearward under the heel, whereas, arch-supports, in general, extend under the heel, and so exert a constant tendency to throw the foot forward and crowd the toes into the point of the shoe, which is very objectionable. This tendency is entirely overcome in my improved archsupport, by making it heelless and providing it with a sufiicient number of shims to support the foot under the arch, whereby the foot is prevented from crowding forward. When the foot is thrown forward, as with the arch-supports ofthe prior art, a longer shoe must be worn than with my improved arch-support, which also provides a high degree of comfort, is very efiicient in .sup-

portin the arch of the foot, and has none of the harshness of metal supports. Such a support may be worn for hours without produclng pain or fatigue.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, an archsupport for footwear, having a flexible body-member, the major axis of which extends at a right angle to the axis of the shoe in which it is to be worn and the respective ends of which form relatively short positioning-flaps which are turned upwardly when the support is in place in the shoe, a flexible lower-member having its ed es fastened to the lower face of the sai bodymember by parallel lines of stitching and wardly therefrom in position to provide a forming; in conjunction with the mlddle support for the arch of the foot, and be portion of the said body-member, a forremovable and replaceable each indepen wardly and rearwardly opening pocket, and ently of the other. 5

5 a plurality of shims superimposed one upon In testimony whereof, I have signed this the other, each wider at one end than at the specification in the presence of two subscribother and decreasing in size from the to ing witnesses.

to the bottom of the group, both in lengt MARIA J. MCQUEENEY. and width, the said shuns being adapted to 'Witnesses: .10 be inserted into the said pocket from the Fmnmc C. Emma,

forward end thereof, and to project for- Manoomc P. Nlonom. 

